She Thinks She Needs Me
by Lemonly
Summary: As much as Jade needs Beck, he needs her just as much.


_She thinks I walk on water  
She thinks I hung the moon  
She tells me every morning  
They just don't make men like you  
_

Beck smiled down at Jade, who slept peacefully snuggled into his arms. She had showed up at his RV around one in the morning, tears streaming down her face because of one too many negative comments on her Slap page. She had always thought that she was the kind of person who didn't let things get to her, but she wasn't. And Beck was glad to be the only person who knew this, which gave them one more thing they had in common. He knew that she loved him more than she ever wanted to admit, to herself or anyone, and he loved that.

He smiled as she shifted, snuggling closer to him as she slowly started to come out of her deep sleep.

"Have a good night sleep?" he asked as she smiled sleepily up at him, pressing a kiss to her head.

Jade just hummed in response, snuggling closer to him as he tightened his grip on her, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Beck replied with a small grin, "everything about you."

"You're so sappy," Jade muttered in her sleep heavy voice, "Why aren't more guys like you?"

That's when Beck realized that the person who had pushed her too far was of the male variety rather than the catty girls who were jealous of her. He tighten his grip protectively around her and said, "Who was it?"

Jade just ignored him, snuggling further against him. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, knowing now that he was not going to like the answer. He took a deep breath before demanding, "Jade, tell me."

"Ryder." Jade muttered into his neck.

Beck let out a growl as he attempted to pull Jade closer to him. Ryder had been a constant thorn in his side since his first day at Hollywood Arts; always attempting to steal Jade from him when he wasn't using other girls to get higher grade. But this crossed the line. His girl was being harassed by the wannabe greaser and Beck needed to put a stop to it, for both their sakes.

The next day, questions and rumors flew through the hall of the performing arts school as Ryder walked into the building, sporting a dark black eye and a split lip.

Jade walked over to his locker and gave him a questioning glance.

Beck just shrugged and replied, "No one talks to my girl without the respect she deserves."

Jade smiled and hugged him, the gesture meaning more to him than the passionate kiss most people would have expected her to give him. He returned her hug and placed a sweet kiss to her head, relishing in the feel of her arms around him.

_She thinks I got it together  
Swears I'm tough as nails  
But I don't have the heart to tell her  
She don't know me that well  
_

He was in Sikowitz class with the rest of their group, minus Jade-who had a doctor's appointment and would get to school shortly before lunch, when his cell phone went off.

"Beckett!" Sikowitz exclaimed, but his words died in his throat when he saw how pale the boy was.

"What's wrong?" Andre asked, concerned about the terrified look in his best friend's eyes.

"It's Jade's dad." Beck replied taking a deep breath, "There's only one reason he would be calling me."

Cat got what he meant first and let out a whimper, catching everyone else up on Beck's meaning as Beck finally answered the phone.

Beck left the room quickly, answering the phone once he was in the hall.

"Mr. West, hey." Beck greeted, trying not to sound as terrified as he was.

"Jade needs someone at the hospital with her." Mr. West replied, "The doctor found some stuff and decided to run some tests. Anyway, she called to tell me and I can't get away from the office and her mother has important showings today."

"Tell her I'll be there soon." Beck replied, biting his cheek from going off on Mr. West, saying everything that he had ever wanted to say to him, before hanging up and walking back into the classroom.

"What's up?" Andre asked his visibly shaken best friend.

"The doctor found something, he's running some tests." Beck replied, grabbing his backpack, "Her parents are too busy with their lives to go comfort they're scared daughter."

Andre walked over to Beck, hugging him tightly, slightly shocked when Beck clang to him, muttering, "I can't lose her."

"Go." Andre replied, "It's probably nothing. Call me when you find something out."

Beck nodded and ran out of the school, breaking almost every LA traffic law to get to the hospital.

He parks haphazardly and runs up to the office he knows she'll be in.

"You need to sign in." the receptionist at the desk calls after him as he runs through to get to his girlfriend.

"No," Beck replied, "I NEED to know which little room Jade West is in."

Seeing the terrified look in the boy's eyes, the receptionists quickly told him the room number and watched as the boy continued his run.

Running into the designated room, he saw Jade sitting on the table, trying to hold back her tears. He immediately wrapped her in his arms, fighting his own tears. She needed him to be strong right now, she needed him to be the strong person she thought he was, she needed him; but all he could think about was that he wouldn't be able to continue on without her.

"How'd you know?" Jade sniffed, pulling back slightly.

"You're dad called." Beck replied, "So, what happened?"

"I found a lump last night, so my doctor suggested a mammogram… and they found something." Jade replied, her voice thick, "So they took some samples and I'll find out later this week at the soonest."

Beck didn't know what to say, so he just held her tightly, trying not to show her how the news effected him. After a few more minutes, Jade's doctor came back and said that she could leave.

The two agreed to meet back at her house, so she could drop her car off, then they would decide where to go from there.

Jade climbed into his truck after he pulled into her driveway.

"So, where do you want to go?" Beck asked as he backed out.

"I need to see Cat." was Jade's only reply.

Beck nodded and drove back to school, knowing everyone would be at lunch.

_She don't know how much I need her  
She don't know I'd fall apart  
Without her kiss, without her touch  
Without her faithful loving arms  
She don't know it's all about her  
She don't know I can't live without her  
She's my world, she's my everything  
She thinks she needs me  
_

"Jade!" Cat yelled, seeing the other girl running toward her.

Jade didn't respond, just flung her arms around her best friend and allowed Cat to take them inside so that no one would see much of this side of her.

Andre began to ask Beck what happened when he was pulled into the school and into the janitor's closet. Once the door was closed and locked, Beck flung his arms around his best friend and let out the sobs he had been holding in, clutching to Andre like a lifeline.

Andre just hugged his friend back just as tightly, even more worried than he had been when he first saw Jade about to breakdown on the Asphalt Café. He didn't know what to do. Beck was the calm one, Beck was the one to give comfort whenever Andre's life got to be too much. And Andre had had to comfort Beck before, after fights and mini-break ups with Jade, but he had no idea how to handle this.

After what felt like forever, and long after the lunch bell rang, Beck slid down the wall, Andre taking the spot next to him, asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Beck took a deep breath, terrified that saying the words out loud would automatically make it real, it would confirm that he wasn't in a god-awful dream. But he need to tell someone, someone who knew that Jadelyn West was his world. Beck let out a shaky breath and said, "Jade might have cancer. She found a lump, they did a monogram, and found something. They're running some tests."

Andre felt his own eyes fill with tears, his heartbreaking when he notice Beck was starting to cry again, "She…she can't…I can't live without her, Andre."

Beck put his head in his arms and his body began to shake as he was unable to hold back whatever tears he had left. Andre just sat there or a moment before wrapping his arms tightly around Beck, letting the boy cry into his shirt once again.

The left the closet in time for their last class. When Jade and Beck saw each other, they immediately gravitated to the other, both pairs of eyes red from crying. As Beck gave Jade a passion filled kiss and muttered "I love you"s, the teacher seemed to sense that something was very wrong and decided not to reprimand them as she usually had to.

_Sometimes she cries on my shoulder  
When she's lyin' next to me  
She don't know that when I hold her  
She's really holding me, holding me_

Jade was curled into Beck, clutching his hand tightly, staring at her phone. The doctor was supposed to call today. Tori, who had overheard Jade and Cat had invited everyone over to her place so that Jade had people there. Beck had begun to turn down the offer, when Jade took it, saying that if it was positive, he would need the support; that he wouldn't be able to handle the news by himself, and that she wouldn't be much help.

Her phone buzzed to life and she shot up, leaving the room as she answered it, Beck following her into the kitchen.

After ten minutes, or thereabouts, Jade hung up the phone and turned into Beck's embrace, just taking in his presence as the news washed over her.

"It's negative." Jade finally said, smiling as she felt Beck's body instantly relax in relief.

"I love you so much, baby." Beck tightened his hold on her as he felt her let out the tears that she had stored up, prepared for bad news. He kept repeating her favorite three words to her as she cried out of relief, happiness even, into his shoulder, and he couldn't help but let his own tears fall. She was still here, and she would be for a long time.

Cat ran up to Jade the minute Jade moved to pull back, sweeping her best friend into a hug, both girls crying at this point. Andre, who also had tears shining in his eyes, placed a hand on Beck's shoulder before he was pulled into the Beck's embrace.

After a while, Beck and Jade were back in the RV, Jade curled up against Beck, letting her boyfriend hold her tightly to him, knowing that he needed the contact as much as she did.

Beck kept her close to him, a reassurance that she was there, that she was healthy, that she wasn't going to leave him. Just holding her in his arms as she drifted off to sleep, emotionally drained. Only once her breathing was even, did he let his own emotions catch up to him. He tightened his grip protectively around her and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of her vanilla-jasmine shampoo, along with the scent that was uniquely Jade.

He didn't know what he would have done if the news had been bad. He knew he wouldn't have been able to give Jade the support she would have needed, that he would have probably fallen apart with her. He couldn't imagine a life without Jade, and he didn't want to ever try. He needed Jade more than he needed anything else.

_She don't know how much I need her  
She don't know I'd fall apart  
Without her kiss, without her touch  
Without her faithful loving arms_

Beck woke in the wee hours of the morning, smiling gently at Jade, who was on her side, a serene look on her face, hair splayed out over the pillow. He carefully got out of bed, and made his way into his house.

"Beck, sweetheart," Beck's mother looked up from the newspaper she had been reading, "What are you doing up at this hour? Is Jade alright?"

"She's exhausted, still sleeping," Beck replied before pulling out the various ingredients he would need to make the breakfast he had planned to make regardless of the test results, "I'm making her breakfast."

"How are you, though, Beckett?"

"I'm just relieved. I mean, when I look into my future, no matter what I see-a successful career, or not-Jade is there…every time. I honestly cannot picture life without her. And I never want to."

His mom remained silent as Beck went about making breakfast, knowing that he wasn't done talking.

_She don't know it's all about her  
She don't know I can't live without her  
She's my world, she's my everything  
She thinks she needs me  
_

"You know," Beck finally said, getting his mother's attention back, "people always just assume that Jade needs me, that she has has such a crappy life that she needs someone who can tolerate her, to put up with her bullshit, and it really pisses me off. I need her just as much as she needs me. She's broken and needs me to pick up the pieces and put her back together; but I need her to hold me together to that I don't fall apart. She's the only person who has ever been able to do that. She has celebrated successful auditions with me and has picked me back up after bad ones. God, I don't know what I would do without Jadelyn West. And I don't see how people can't see that I rely just as heavily on her. That I fall apart and the only person who can help is Jade. I love her so much."

Beck mom walked over to him and simply wrapped her arms around her crying son, whispering comforting words and trying to calm him down.

Eventually, Beck pulled back and wiped the stray tears away before turning back to preparing the omelets, "Sorry to just break down on you, mom."

"Oh, Beck," his mother sighed, running a hand through her son's long hair, "you have been so strong for Jade these past few weeks when you didn't have to be. Jade would have been okay with being there for you, but you were so busy being there for her to notice. Now, I know she's your world, but -just from looking at the two of you- you are hers as well."

Beck smiled at his mom and went back to cooking breakfast in silence before piling the food onto two plates and heading back out to the RV.

_Funny thing is, she thinks she's the lucky one  
_

"I was wondering where you went." Jade said, coming out of the bathroom.

"Made us breakfast," Beck smiled fondly at her, "Swiss and sausage omelets."

"Thank you." Jade smiled, sitting down at the small table while Beck pulled out two cups and orange juice from the mini-fridge.

Halfway through breakfast, Beck looked up and noticed Jade looking at him with a small smile. Frantically wiping at his face, he asked, "What? Do I have cheese hanging out of mouth?"

"No," Jade shook her head, blushing at the fact that he had actually caught her staring at him, "It's just…I'm so lucky to have you…"

"No," Beck smiled fondly, taking her hand in his, "I'm the lucky one."

_She don't know how much I need her  
She don't know I'd fall apart  
Without her kiss, without her touch  
Without her faithful loving arms  
She don't know it's all about her  
She don't know I can't live without her  
She's my world, she's my everything  
She thinks she needs me_


End file.
